teen suicide

Researchers pored over newspaper archives

(Newser) -
Graphic and extensive news reports on a teen suicide may lead to more teen suicides, a new study has found. Researchers looked at 48 teen suicide "clusters" in US communities where three to 11 teens killed themselves over a six-month period occurring between 1988 and 1996 (before Internet news...
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Brad Lewis says son Jordan, 15, was bullied

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On Wednesday, 15-year-old Jordan Lewis watched a video about bullying at his Illinois high school. That evening, police made a "wellness visit" to his home after the grandmother of a friend reported that he had texted her granddaughter about harming himself. On Thursday, Jordan fatally shot himself in the...
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Girls charged with felony stalking in Rebecca Sedwick case

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Two girls have been arrested in the death of a 12-year-old central Florida girl who authorities say committed suicide after being bulled online for nearly a year, a sheriff said. The girls are 12 and 14, and they have been charged with felony aggravated stalking, Polk County authorities say. Officials...
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Tyler Clementi's roommate gives his side of the story

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Dharun Ravi says he did something a lot of college kids do: He unthinkingly pranked an awkward, less-cool roommate. But that prank was spying on a homosexual hookup via webcam, that roommate was Tyler Clementi, and Ravi has a hate-crime conviction to show for what he says was a moment...
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Alcohol abuse, rigid parenting make matters worse

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For many Russian teenagers, the only way out is death. Experts there are already familiar with the nation's high teen suicide rate (about five a day) and know the causes all too well—but say solutions are hampered by prejudice and social conformity, the Washington Post reports. The most...
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Staten Island teen walks in front of bus

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A Staten Island 15-year-old whose family said she got bullied at school has died after walking in front of a bus holding a suicide note, reports the Daily News . Classmates had taken the belongings of Amanda Cummings and even made mean comments on her Facebook page after the incident, her...
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Gay and bisexual high school students more likely to drink, smoke

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Gay and bisexual high school students are more likely than their heterosexual classmates to smoke, drink alcohol or do other risky things, according to a CDC study released today. Investigators asked about dozens of risky behaviors, ranging from not wearing a bicycle helmet to drug use and suicide attempts. Based...
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Joseph, Jane Clementi file notice preserving right to sue

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Jane and Joseph Clementi haven't decided whether Rutgers University was at fault in son Tyler's suicide, but they've filed notice protecting their right to sue just in case. It reads in part: "It appears Rutgers University failed to put in place policies that would have prevented" the online posting...
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Samantha Kelly, 14, was bullied by classmates after senior charged

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Friends and family of Samantha Kelly say the 14-year-old girl was relentlessly bullied after accusing a popular senior at her high school of raping her. The charges against Joseph Tarnopolski, 18, have now been dropped after Kelly hanged herself at her Michigan home after coming home from school earlier this...
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Pa. boy Brandon Bitner is the latest victim of torment to kill self

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A 14-year-old boy stepped in front of a tractor-trailer in central Pennsylvania last week, and became the latest victim of school bullying to turn to suicide, the Patriot-News reports. Brandon Bitner, who had a close group of friends and a passion for the violin, wrote in his suicide note that...
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People hear homophobic messages from the pulpit, says poll

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About 65% of Americans think that anti-gay messages from religious leaders contribute to suicides among homosexual youths, a new poll finds. Slightly more, 72%, agree that religion at least somehow contributes to negative views of gays and lesbians, say researchers at the nonprofit Public Religion Research Institute. Twice as many...
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(Newser) -
As 15-year-old Robyn Nixon lay dying on the pavement after jumping from the top of a multi-story car park, some callous bystanders took photographs of her on their cellphones. The British teen made the decision to take her own life after being excluded from a group of friends and breaking...
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They all looked the other way before and after suicide

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The Boston teenagers accused of bullying fellow student Phoebe Prince into suicide may get their comeuppance in court. But what about the grownups, wonders Kevin Cullen. Those supposedly-in-charge folks who did nothing to help a girl in trouble and then adopted a "look-the-other-way, kids-will-be-kids culture" after she killed herself....
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Phoebe Prince, 15, was raped, harassed: cops

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Nine teenagers have been charged in connection with the death of a Massachusetts teen who committed suicide in January after being bullied and abused in school and on Facebook. The charges include statutory rape, harassment, and violation of civil rights. Phoebe Prince, 15, who had recently moved to the US...
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Third Pennsylvania girl got cold feet just before suicide

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Two girls killed by a speeding Amtrak train last week in Pennsylvania actually committed suicide, according to a witness and autopsy results. Vanessa Dorwart and Gina Gentile, 15 and 16, stepped on to the tracks Thursday morning just before an Acela from Boston to Washington, DC, came through town. A...
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Four Palo Alto teens dead in last 6 months spark vigil

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After four teenagers from the same high school committed suicide on the commuter rail tracks that run through Palo Alto, Calif., in just 6 months, parents set up a daily vigil at the offending crossing. When the train comes through—every half hour—there's a nervous pause in the chatting,...
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(Newser) -
Teens forced to move often by their parents’ jobs are much more likely to attempt suicide than those who stay put, MSNBC reports. Kids between 11 and 17 who moved three or more times were twice as likely to try to kill themselves as children who grew up in the...
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(Newser) -
The Florida teen who committed suicide live via webcam was bipolar and used his own prescription drugs to kill himself, the Miami Herald reports. “It’s unimaginable,” the boy’s father said. “I did everything I could. I'm sorry it wasn't enough.” His sister expressed anger...
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Authorities perplexed, send experts to schools

(Newser) -
A 16-year-old schoolgirl found hanged in the woods yesterday became the 17th youth suicide in the area of Bridgend, Wales, since early 2007. The rash of suicides has focused intense scrutiny on the town of 39,000 and its surrounding borough, where baffled police have so far failed to unearth...
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